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E90/E91/E92/E93 (2006 - 2013) The E9X is the 4th evolution of the BMW 3 series including a highly tuned twin turbo 335i variant pushing out 300hp and 300 ft. lbs. of torque. BMW continues to show that it sets the bar for true driving performance! -- View the E9X Wiki

Just wanted to share some thoughts on my new Remus Powersound Muffler with twin 76mm chrome tips. My car is an 07 328xi sport coupe. I bought the muffler from BavAuto for $699. Then I had it installed at a local muffler shop. It was not a direct fit (it appears to be designed for an E46) but the installer did a great job of customizing the mounts. Very clean professional install. Kudos to Fort Collins Muffler for that. When I picked it up and drove away I was initially very disappointed by the lack of sound and power gain. It did have a slightly better tone in the garage while blipping the throttle but the car was still very quiet overall. As some of you may know the Remus powersound line has a butterfly/flapper valve on each exit pipe. The left one comes in the closed position but has a matrix of small holes in it. The right flapper only has one small hole and essentially closes off the exit pipe. I started playing with these valves, opening them gradually, and noting the sound and power change. Now I am running them both wide open. It took them both being wide open to really get any noticeable sound that can be heard in the cabin. My wife says she can now hear me coming up the street while she is in the house so I suspect it is louder than I think outside the car. The best news is that by a SOTP dyno result I think I have picked up 10-15% more low end torque! This thing really screams (relatively) off the line now. The mid range torque is a little better but is still the weak spot in a 328 with Auto transmission. The high end power seems virtually unchanged. But I am digging this new low end torque. So if your looking for a simple, relatively inexpensive mod to a 328 I would recommend this muffler. Just make sure it open it wide open! There is no annoying drone at any RPM or speed. Just a pleasant aggressive tone but the power gain is alot of fun.

LOL, let this be a lesson for you. Never buy a performance exhaust without having heard it with the vehicle stopped and at speed. Remus is one of the best manufacturers of dyno tested exhaust systems in the world. Nobody makes a better quality system.
But that's got nothing to do with sound, and Remus mufflers are not widely known for their aggressive exhaust note. They bump up the volume to a sporty sounding level, not something that's going to turn heads. You want that kind of noise you are going to have to look at Billy Boat or someone else who makes lound systems.
Exhaust systems not only conduct exhaust to the back end of the car and quiet the noise along the way, they also help extract exhaust if properly tuned. By tuned I don't mean soundwise, I mean that after each cylinder fires a high pressure wave leaves the cylinder. Behind this wave is a low pressure wave which helps draw the subsequent exhaust pulse down the tubes. The better systems maximize this effect and Remus is one of the companies which spend the money on ensuring maximum extraction.
So while you may not have gotten loud, you got what you paid for. There are loud systems which actually result in lower horsepower. That's a dirty little secret in the performance exhaust market and I've seen dyno charts which prove it. It's next to impossible to convince an owner who just dropped a grand or more, and who hears a powerful roar coming from his engine, that in fact he's delivering less power to the wheels than he did with the oem system.
When it comes to mods, always ask yourself "Why did the manufacturer purposely choke down his exhaust system when for next to nothing they could have gotten X% more HP?" Chances are they didn't.

Just to be clear I wasn't looking for loud but I was tired of the fact that my car sounded silent like a Cadillac. It looks like a sports car, so it ought to sound like one! I'm really pleased with the subtle level of sound I have now. I feel it is just about perfect. And I like the fact that I saved a significant amount of money over the BMW performance exhaust.

I've added aftermarket Bayern mesh wheels. A subtle rear lip spoiler, window tint and now the muffler. I'm done modding now but I like the fact that my car doesn't look and sound just like every other E92 on the road.

Just to be clear I wasn't looking for loud but I was tired of the fact that my car sounded silent like a Cadillac. It looks like a sports car, so it ought to sound like one! I'm really pleased with the subtle level of sound I have now. I feel it is just about perfect. And I like the fact that I saved a significant amount of money over the BMW performance exhaust.

I've added aftermarket Bayern mesh wheels. A subtle rear lip spoiler, window tint and now the muffler. I'm done modding now but I like the fact that my car doesn't look and sound just like every other E92 on the road.

That's a dirty little secret in the performance exhaust market and I've seen dyno charts which prove it. It's next to impossible to convince an owner who just dropped a grand or more, and who hears a powerful roar coming from his engine, that in fact he's delivering less power to the wheels than he did with the oem system.

AGREE - BMW is pretty clear that its PE system is good for about 7/8 additional horsepower. It basically makes a nice sound & not much else.

+1 Remus constantly wins top awards for best exhaust manufacturing, and are easily the largest manufacturer of exhausts around the world, yet nobody really knows this. Though not as loud as other systems as it's been noted, if you're looking for something that accentuates the sound of the motor, but gives you a good bump in power, this is the perfect system. Couldn't agree more!

Good looking car, now lose the orange fender reflectors and you're there. (Nice Mazda you parked next to.)
Colorado and no snow? Looks like NH this Winter!

Yep, Not much snow around here this winter. The ski resorts have been hurting but it seems to finally be turning around, at least in the mountains. My daughter is up in your neck of the woods going to school at UVM in Burlington. I love New England and would live there if I couldn't live in Colorado!

rdkind62 It sounds like you are doing the things that I had in mind for my 328xi. I noticed you were in Colorado; what city? That parking lot looks familiar and I am in Colorado Springs.

That is the parking lot of Water Pik Inc. I'm an Engineer there. I've lived here in Fort Collins since 82. Doesn't get any better than Colorado! But you know that.
What HAVE you done to your 328? anything yet?

That is the parking lot of Water Pik Inc. I'm an Engineer there. I've lived here in Fort Collins since 82. Doesn't get any better than Colorado! But you know that.
What HAVE you done to your 328? anything yet?[/QUOTE]

I haven't done anything thus far except tint the windows. I just paid it off and I am always hesitant to do many mods to a car that I am still paying for. But, now I have bought my wife a new Durango R/T, I am beginning to get the bug a little and I figure it is cheaper to do that than to go out and buy something new.

I expect that I will be doing exhaust, and a few exterior changes like changing out the chrome for the blacked out look, and of course new wheels.

That is the parking lot of Water Pik Inc. I'm an Engineer there. I've lived here in Fort Collins since 82. Doesn't get any better than Colorado! But you know that.
What HAVE you done to your 328? anything yet?

So...uh...how'd the Broncos do this year? I haven't been following football much here in NEW ENGLAND.

I'm interested in the Remus exhaust system for both the slightly more aggressive sound and performance advantages. To owners out there, about how much louder is it inside the car while cruising on the highway? I commute a 750 mile trip several times a year and really appreciate the quite-ness of my 325i as well. I think I definitely want one of these if the cruising noise is only slightly louder. Also, has anyone noted any mpg increase? I put full exhaust on a Mustang GT and got about a 4 mpg increase on the highway.

" By tuned I don't mean soundwise, I mean that after each cylinder fires a high pressure wave leaves the cylinder. Behind this wave is a low pressure wave which helps draw the subsequent exhaust pulse down the tubes. The better systems maximize this effect and Remus is one of the companies which spend the money on ensuring maximum extraction.
So while you may not have gotten loud, you got what you paid for."

" By tuned I don't mean soundwise, I mean that after each cylinder fires a high pressure wave leaves the cylinder. Behind this wave is a low pressure wave which helps draw the subsequent exhaust pulse down the tubes. The better systems maximize this effect and Remus is one of the companies which spend the money on ensuring maximum extraction.
So while you may not have gotten loud, you got what you paid for."

DSX would you say BMW is one of those companies?
Thanks,
Cheers. GE

Yes. Keeping in mind that most customers are well into their 40's and probably not looking to wake up the neighbors or impress the Civic coffee can crowd.

Also, I always get a laugh out of people who spend $2000 to re-exhaust a turbo equipped car when the number one thing generating all that power for them is one of the worst choke points in all of internal combustion, a turbocharger!

Lets think about why Ferrari or Aston or Porsche or Bugatti would have such relatively small and relatively quiet exhaust systems if they really inhibit horsepower. Because they don't. A 500 hp compressor pumping exhaust out of a cylinder is going to have no problem pushing it down a 3" pipe.

(Note; I don't say that loud cannot be good. My point is that loud is not neccessarily good, and frequently isn't. But what about those noisy NASCAR engines, and Indy cars and F1 cars? They are very fast and very noisy! Yes, but they are not fast because they are noisy, they are noisy because they are fast. A little logic not comprehended by most buyers of performance exhausts.
Remember the 'Show me the money!' movie? Next time anyone thinks an exhaust system is really going to boost hp, ask the mfr. for the independent dyno charts showing the gain. Enjoy the wait.)

hey guys just wanted you to know bavauto also sent me the wrong model remus for my car . my car is the 2006 530i they sent me the remus that fits the f10 series but i modified it to fit.. anyways i have the same issue remus although is good but its just too quiet cant i remove the cats or the resonator to make it a bit louder... again a bit and not by too much.. which should i remove the cats or the resonator....
regards

Just to be clear I wasn't looking for loud but I was tired of the fact that my car sounded silent like a Cadillac. It looks like a sports car, so it ought to sound like one! I'm really pleased with the subtle level of sound I have now. I feel it is just about perfect. And I like the fact that I saved a significant amount of money over the BMW performance exhaust.

Make it "silent like a Lexus" and we will agree. Caddies have some sweet V6 sounds.

The 2006 325i/330i and 2013 ...-128i exhausts have a MUCH nicer engine note than 2007-... 3-series with N52. It is beyond me why BMW made them so silent. I had a 128i this week for a few days and if my car sounded like this, I would have not installed a Performance Exhaust and saved 1300$ in the process.

Quote:

The mid range torque is a little better but is still the weak spot in a 328 with Auto transmission.

On the N52, 100% of torque is available right at 2600rpm IIRC. I suspect that the culprit of your annoyance is more the electric throttle, with a bit too much lag, and one of the reasons why PBX exists.

LOL, let this be a lesson for you. Never buy a performance exhaust without having heard it with the vehicle stopped and at speed. Remus is one of the best manufacturers of dyno tested exhaust systems in the world. Nobody makes a better quality system.
But that's got nothing to do with sound, and Remus mufflers are not widely known for their aggressive exhaust note. They bump up the volume to a sporty sounding level, not something that's going to turn heads. You want that kind of noise you are going to have to look at Billy Boat or someone else who makes lound systems.
Exhaust systems not only conduct exhaust to the back end of the car and quiet the noise along the way, they also help extract exhaust if properly tuned. By tuned I don't mean soundwise, I mean that after each cylinder fires a high pressure wave leaves the cylinder. Behind this wave is a low pressure wave which helps draw the subsequent exhaust pulse down the tubes. The better systems maximize this effect and Remus is one of the companies which spend the money on ensuring maximum extraction.
So while you may not have gotten loud, you got what you paid for. There are loud systems which actually result in lower horsepower. That's a dirty little secret in the performance exhaust market and I've seen dyno charts which prove it. It's next to impossible to convince an owner who just dropped a grand or more, and who hears a powerful roar coming from his engine, that in fact he's delivering less power to the wheels than he did with the oem system.
When it comes to mods, always ask yourself "Why did the manufacturer purposely choke down his exhaust system when for next to nothing they could have gotten X% more HP?" Chances are they didn't.

Good looking car, now lose the orange fender reflectors and you're there.

+1. I removed the orange from my black 335 and also swapped out the side markers for smoked color and a color concealing bulb. Easy enough for a noob to do it and I think it looks great for black paint. I might have spent $60 for all of it.

hey guys just wanted you to know bavauto also sent me the wrong model remus for my car . my car is the 2006 530i they sent me the remus that fits the f10 series but i modified it to fit.. anyways i have the same issue remus although is good but its just too quiet cant i remove the cats or the resonator to make it a bit louder... again a bit and not by too much.. which should i remove the cats or the resonator....
regards

I installed the Remus on my prior E39 and was somewhat disappointed in the "tone," or lack of it. I made up for this with my E46 M3 by installing the Eisenmann (83mm tip) exhaust...awesome...not too loud...excellent tone to the extent that you rolled down your windows when you went through tunnels (how juvenile ). It was much lighter than the BMW original exhaust and didn't cause my trunk padding to scorch or catch on fire!